Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1887-02-24
SODOM DESTROYED.
NOTES ON INTERNATIONAL SUNDAY
SCHOOL LESSON.

by Samuel Ives Curtiss, Phi. d., ID. ID.
Introduction-Lot's Hespitality.-The two
angels who had accompanied the angel of
Jehovah were soon at the gate of Sodom- In
this place of public traffic, of justice and of
gossip they found Lot. The Angel of Jeho-
van, who had visited his servant Abraham,
does not now honor Lot with his presence or
run the risk of being subjected to shameful
indignities. Lot, true to the customs of the
Orient, which regard the rites of hospitality
as most sacred, in whose defense the host
should put his life and his honor in peril if
need be, induces the angels, whom he prob
ably does not recognize as such until later, to
be his guests
The men Of Sodom soon give evidence of
their abominable vices They are therefore
smitten with blindness, but notwithstanding
they do not desist from their attempt 70 enter
Lots house. although to no purpose.
The shamelesSneSS of these men and the
Judgment visited On them are the prelude to
the terrible tragedy which is so soon to fol-
low, and which the angels announce to Lot.
They ask him what relatives he has and bid
him bring them out Of the place. 1t appears
from the narrative that there were two young
men in Sodom who were betrothed to his
daughters Gen xix, IA, Revised Versionl. Lot
bids them leave the place, "For the Lord will
destroy the city," but this announcement was
probably received with derisive laughter, as
he seemed to them to be only jesting. With
out concern the young men lay down to
sleep and awoke only to find the words of
warning too true, and no opportunity for es-
cape
THE LESSON.
The Impending Ruin Tvs, Is. 16.-How Lot
h.,
There is no account of its being spent in
prayer, as a night was spent at a crisis in
Jacobs history He was faced with the grim
certainty that he was about to lose his home
and his earthly all. With the earliest light
of morning the angels hastened Lot, bidding
him take his wife and his two daughters and
begone, lest notwithstanding the warning
that they had come to give he should be de-
stroyed in the iniquity of the place and its at
tendant punishment which was now to be
visited. But he fingered as on enchanted
ground. He could not bear to leave his home
and his possessions He probably desired to
take some of his wealth with him, and was
undecided what to do. But while he fingered,
in Gods mercy the men took him, his wife
and his two daughters by the hand, and, as it
were, tore them away from the city, and
brought them outside.
v H. The angels, however, knew that not
withstanding all their warnings there was
danger that Lot might delay, even if he did
not return to bring some of the coveted pos
sessions with him. We should expect to read
that the two angels commanded him, but in
stead we read that he who must have been
the Angel of Jehovah, who had come unan-
nounced, said, Escape for thy life; look not
behind thee, neither stay in all the plain;
escape to the mountain, lest thou be con-
sumed."
The plain mentioned here is more literally
translated in the margin of the Revised Ver-
sion of Gen. xiii, II, the "circle." 1t indicates
what might be called the meadow or bottom
lands of the Jordan near tho Dead sea, where
the valley is about ten mii5s wide. We do
not know definitely what mountain is indi-
Gated, for we do not know the original site of
the cities of the plain.
Lots Prayer Tvs 1s20.-Lot, now
thoroughly alarmed, prays for more favor
able terms. He addresses the Angel of Jeho-
vah, gratefully acknowledging the favor
which he has found and that the Lord has
magnified his mercy in saving his life, and
asks that since Jehovah has done such great
things for him be should do him the lesser
favor of allowing him to flee to the little city
near by. This petition he urges with passion
ate earnestness.
vs. 81, 2-Jehovah graciously accepts
him While Abraham's prayer is not to
avail for the salvation Of Seldom, Lots avails
for the preservation of Zoar, the little city.
God will not do anything for the destruc-
ton of the cities until Lot reaches Zoar. This
was entirely in answer to Abraham,s interces-
sion, as it would seem (Gen. xix, 29. When
once God had given his assurance to bis ser
Tot Safa off fla
answer comes in an entirely different form
from what Abraham had expected.
Lot reaches Zoar at sunrise. As he left
Sodom at the first gray of the morning, he
had gone perhaps four or five miles.
The Destruction Tvs. %, 2A.-The sun burst
in its usual splendor on the cities of the plain.
The night had doubtless been passed in we'd
ding festivities and gayety by some, and in
lust and debauchery by others. Many of the
people rose early to pursue their wonted call
ngs, but the cool breath of morning was as
it were in moment turned into the sitting
heat of furnace, with which the fumes Of
sulphur were mingled. The Scripture does
not dwell on the scene 1t ascribes the de-
struction to Jehovah. Whether this was oc-
casioned by the play of electricity on some
ot the bituminous deposits, and on sulphur
springs, which are found il the neighborhood,
we do not know. Gods hand is equally
divine, whether seen in the orderly course Of
nature or in seemingly miraculous interfer-
ence in that course. No law of force is more
powerful than that almighty hand, and any
theory of a "reign of law" which bars God
out from his own universe does not satisfy
the conditions which we find in the Bible
Sodom, Gomorrah and, as we learn from
another passage Deut. xxx, 2A Admah and
Iocf,-o int
The Site of the Cities.-It is still a subject
of much controversy where these cities were
situated. It was the popular belief, as it still
is, among many that they occupied the site
of the Dead sea. But there is no scriptural
authority for this view, and geological re-
searches have shown that it is impossible, and
that the peculiar depression of the Dead sea,
which is the lowest known natural depression
below the earth's surface q 800 feet below the
level of the Mediterranean, existed for ages
before the overthrow Of these cities The
prevalent view since this discovery, which is
favored by certain traditional landmarks, has
been that the cities were situated Just at the
south of the Dead sea. The view which now
seems to be most popular among scholars is
that they were a little 30 the north of it. DR..
Selah Merrill thinks he has even found some
ruins which mark the spot.
LOtS AIbef lAIe ". SOl.-LOJ escaped, DuL
he lost not only his property, except what he
he could carry on his person, but also his
wife. Whether from curiosity or a longing
10 have one last parting view of her old
home, she looked behind her, thus disobeying
the divine command, and became a pillar OF
alt, silent preacher Of the peril of disobedi-
snce and Of the suddenneSs of the divine
Judgments luke xvii, 32).
The story Of Lots life Is soon told. He
withdrew from Zoar to the mountain for
greater safety, only to have the stains Of
Sodom indelibly impressed on his memory.
For Abraham's sake his life was spared, but
no record of him is found among the heroes
of the faith whose names have been preserved
with honorable mention in the Westminster
abbey Of the New Testament Hebrews, xD,
although a sacred writer commends him for
keeping his heart pure amid the corruptions
of one of the most dissolute cities Of the ancient
world III Peter ii, Z, 81.
POINTS TO BE REMEMBERED.
/. Those who now laugh at the warnings OF
Gods faithful servants, unless they repent,
will one day mourn and weep.